"La la laaa laaaa, what should I create today?" A man hummed happily to himself in the beautiful night, talking aloud to no one in particular. "This talented scientist will work on something new... but what should I work on? Hmm..."
TLINK TLINK!
The shop door swung open as various people came streaming in.
"Luurr luurrr, tyyrrrrr!" Animal noises accompanied their entrance, chirping and cooing from small creatures perched on shoulders.
"Hm, hey there, Mr. Stein Mateo! Long time no see!" A young man entered in a relaxed manner, wearing a casual shirt and tight track pants with lots of straps dangling from his waist. He called out to a man who was leaning back lazily in his chair, legs propped up on a table cluttered with all sorts of junk.
"Oohh, hey Zack! Come, come!" Mr. Stein stood up excitedly, his eyes gleaming like a hungry beast. "I was just thinking about what to do next—glad you came! Now give me your energy globe, fast!"
"Mr. Stein, I told you not to bully Zack! He doesn't have any extra right now!" Princess Natlia stepped forward protectively in her usual white and golden outfit, blocking his path.
"Hmm, Princess, good evening. I see you all came here together." Mr. Stein grinned widely. "I guess I'll earn some good money this evening! Heheh!"
"Uwwahhh! Such a big shop you have, Mr. Tool Guy! Does your business do very well here?" A cute young girl asked curiously, dressed in a white shirt tucked neatly into her black shorts with black knee-length socks and black shoes.
"No, Sio, he's poor as hell. His own creations aren't even that good," a slightly taller young girl said teasingly as she came up behind Sio and patted her shoulder. She wore her usual tight brown long jeans with a cream-colored half-sleeve shirt strapped by many leather bands that made her figure more charming as she smirked toward the tool guy.
"Hoooo, Little Princess, then why are you here?" Tool Guy asked with mock offense, then suddenly ran toward a young man standing beside Little Princess. That young man wore a blue shirt with lots of straps and slightly loose black pants. "Hey, hey! Let me tell you something—this girl was asking me to—"
GUUUAAAA!
A kick came out of nowhere and struck Tool Guy Back! Tumbling him down.
"HEY! Don't hit your elder!" Tool Guy rubbed his back in pain, grimacing.
"Don't listen to his words, Alfie. He just likes to speak nonsense. Humph!" Little Princess glared at Tool Guy with fiery eyes.
"Little Princess, don't hit him so hard. He's getting old—what if you injured him heavily?" A beautiful woman entered the shop, dressed in tight black tights leggings which is connected to a cloth band that acted as support for her crop top. The band passed through her breasts touching her nipples, to over her shoulders, and attached to the back of her tights leggings. The crop top hung loosely over her chest, leaving her belly exposed, and red ankle boots completed her stylish look.
"Big Sister Sasha, I didn't mean to hit him that hard! It just... just... moo, I don't care!" Little Princess turned away stubbornly and dragged a confused Alfie deeper inside the shop.
"Hmm, Mr. Stein, don't sleep on the ground. Here, get up." A big hand extended in front of Tool Guy as he looked up to see a massive man wearing a big scarf with three layers of bulky cloth and slightly loose pants tied with a thick cloth around his waist.
"Hey there, Big Guy! I see you came too." Tool Guy took the offered hand gratefully. "I'm not sleeping, you know... aghh, my back."
He sat down heavily in a chair and looked around at the many young people browsing his shop. He smiled warmly and spoke in a loud, commanding voice that gathered everyone's attention. "NOW TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT!"
"Umm, Mr. Stein, I would like to have a tool for myself that can help me fight better." Sio stepped forward nervously. "I use kicks a lot and move around quickly, so something for my legs would be great. It doesn't need to be too fancy—just a simple tool would do fine!" as soon as she finished speaking
TAAAKKK!
"Hey, Sio! Don't be so reserved!" Zack came up behind her and tapped her head a little strongly. "I told you I'd give you a gift, so just be open and buy something that will really help you in many situations."
"OW! Big Brother Zack! I heard you—don't hit me!" Sio smiled warmly despite her protest, grabbing his hand and placing it around her shoulder while giggling. "Fine, something better would be good!"
"Ohh! Sure, sure, I can see to that." Tool Guy nodded enthusiastically. "You can get a ready-made one or order something specific. So, what do you prefer, Sio?"
"Hmm, you can make a custom one, Mr. Stein?" Sio asked in surprise, glancing toward Zack, who simply nodded in confirmation.
"Yes, I can! Well, not everyone can, but I can." Mr. Stein said this proudly, puffing out his chest.
"How do you make one, Tool Guy?" Alfie came closer, touching the many straps of clothing behind his back and neck curiously.
"Hmm, that's a nice question!" Tool Guy's eyes lit up with excitement. "Why not let this gentleman explain how tools work? So, which tool do you want to learn about? Everyone gets only one chance!" He asked happily, since he rarely got the opportunity to show off his knowledge.
"My training big ball and sticky shoes!" Big Guy sat down casually in a chair, and both animals—Lurvi and Tyra—perched on his broad shoulders, one on the left, one on the right.
"Speedy shoes plus anchoring shoes, smoke tool, slow time bomb, parachute clothing, my goggles that can see through smoke!" Zack rattled off several tool names with a confident smirk.
"My green suit," Sasha said simply, glancing at Zack with a smile.
"My cloth-strapped clothing," Alfie asked straightforwardly.
"Hmm, I only use a strap on my wrist, soo... flying boards! And why is Mr. Jorri's board different?" Sio asked after thinking for a moment.
"What do you know about the Heart Machine, Mr. Stein?" Princess Natlia bowed gently and asked with sincere curiosity. "As you know, I can't properly control it, so if it's possible, could you tell me some details? Maybe I could learn something."
"My retractable pointy sword!" Little Princess pulled out her small cylinder that narrowed toward her fingers. SSWWNNNGGG! She extended the sharp blade, which vibrated in the air with a metallic hum, then retracted it back smoothly, hehehe Little princess smiling proudly at her demonstration.
"Luuuuurrrr!" Lurvi chirped, asking something in her animal language.
"TYYYRRR! TYR!" Tyra added his own request enthusiastically.
Tool Guy listened to all of them, then said in mock anger, "YOU BRATS! I told you ONE chance—that means one tool per person! Geez... fine, fine, I'll explain all I know." He sighed dramatically in frustration.
"First, do you all know the basics, right? Tools are created with the help of power from Energies, or EIRNET Energies!" Hearing this, everyone nodded in understanding. Tool Guy continued with a knowing smile, "How many types of powers do you know of?"
"Umm, there are types?" Big Guy asked in genuine confusion.
Tool Guy smiled patiently. "Well, not really clear-cut types, but... hmm, let me show you an example. Sasha, come here and bring out your Eirnet energy power." He then retrieved a glass globe from his shelf.
Sasha stepped forward and summoned her healing energy—sparkly greenish droplets that floated gracefully in the air. Tool Guy then held up the glass globe beside Sasha Energy, which contained a softer, gently swaying bloom-like energy of golden-yellowish hues.
"These two energies have the same function—to cure someone or heal someone. But even though they share the same purpose, their basic properties are different, with one glance you can see the difference." He spoke slowly and carefully, making sure everyone understood. "If I have to say it simply, Sasha's power will take more time to heal someone than this globe's power."
"Umm, doesn't that mean Sasha's power is weaker than that healing power?" Princess Natlia asked while comparing the two. Sasha, who had moved back to stand in front of Zack, glared at Natlia, who just poked her tongue out playfully.
"Heheh, at first glance we could assume who is stronger or weaker, but in truth, EIRNET energies have endless possibilities to grow—well, in theory at least!" Tool Guy spoke enthusiastically. "Sasha's energy does seem weaker if compared directly to this glass globe's energy, but Sasha can also protect her allies by reducing their pain significantly for a specific time by giving them a lot of energy at once!" He indicated for her to demonstrate.
Sasha nodded and summoned a circular shield, its surface shimmering with a watery green hue. The light it cast filled the room, bathing everything in a warm, emerald glow. Lurvi and Tyra darted toward it at once, their excitement obvious as they sniffed the air and danced playfully while hovering around the shield. Then, without warning, Sasha collapsed the barrier. The green, liquid-like energy splashed over the two creatures, and whatever they felt only sent them spiraling through the air with even greater excitement.
"AH!" Sio suddenly shouted, still holding Zack's hand on her shoulder as Zack occasionally played with her hair. "Big Sister Sasha, it hurt that time when Big Guy threw me!" She grunted with restrained anger, though still relatively calm.
"Oh! I forgot to ask you about that! I'm sorry, Sio! Teehee!" Sasha smiled cutely, apologizing sweetly.
"Humph, fine." Sio brushed it off and gestured Tool Guy to continue.
"Like you see here, there's not a single way to use an energy—it changes from person to person. I don't really think the owner of this energy globe can create a shield like Sasha, but of course they could probably do something else entirely. So, there's no single winner!" Tool Guy was clearly enjoying his time as teacher.
"Mr. Stein, if there are possibilities for an Energy power to grow stronger than others, then why isn't there any famous Crown controlling a country with power like Big Sister Sasha? Or some commoner person with incredible powers?" Alfie asked thoughtfully, wondering if there were any he'd heard of.
"Hmm, I said 'in theory' only. You guys must know, right? Common people usually have two types of similar powers—like Sasha and Mr. Jorri, who have similar-style powers. He did use a blue cone blade and blob of water against that weird man while fighting. Oh, I hope to get that man for some experiments! Kekekek!" Tool Guy laughed evilly as Zack and the others backed away slightly.
He continued, "Then there's power like the one that Gloomy has—a little dark and evil-looking. But the Crowns have many types of powers. Most tools are only possible because of Crown powers, so common people maybe never got a chance to defeat a Crown with stranger, more versatile powers. And I don't really know how EIRNET energy powers gets stronger. You can, of course, train by using it again and again, but that increases the risk of overdose. And I also don't know how Crown powers get stronger, since I've seen some Crowns with tremendous power—compared to them, common people's powers seem very weak. But I don't really believe common people's powers can't grow. There has to be something more to these Energies that meets the eye!"
He paused, while lost in thought. "And it's unclear whether there's any place controlled by a common person's powers. Maybe there is one somewhere, or maybe there isn't... But how do we really know how these Energies work? Hmmmm, I did work there, but I couldn't get into the main branch. If I had, maybe I could have gotten some info, but those people are way too annoying. Hmm, is there a way to compete with those powers? Common people can't really get those Crown powers since it is bloodline and all. Even if someone did get Crown power, then they will come under that region Empire. Then is it just nature selecting who to give more power to and who to give less? But that doesn't make sense! Everyone knows it already weird that common people can have mostly only 2 types of powers while those Crowns have so many different types! And the cases over the years of common people getting some weird power is not really clear, since there's no knowledge on how they got it in the first place, if some common people can get it, then it's possible to get more different powers but why never in large number like those Crowns?? Is it really true that Eirnet Energies favours more a specific Bloodline? ... Hmm, what could—"
"OYEE, MR. TOOL GUYYY!" Little Princess shouted loudly to wake him up from his rambling thoughts.
"Aghh! Sorry, sorry! Ahem!" Tool Guy rubbed his hands together expectantly. "Princess Natlia, can you tell me how a Crown gets power? The Queen never told me saying she can't even if she want to. You are not queen yet or officially a Princess so if you are allowed to tell some basics, which I don't think you are allowed but still, some tiny pieces of info!"
Hearing this, Princess Natlia's eyes dimmed slightly. "I don't know. Mother never told me, and I never asked her. On the other hand, I never got a chance to get any power since I can't even control the Heart Machine." She spoke sadly, her voice barely above a whisper.
Little Princess grabbed her hands and slumped down beside her, thinking about whether she ever wanted to go there. Now both princesses looked sad. Alfie gently patted Little Princess's back to calm her down.
"HUH! YOU NEVER GOT A CHANCE?! TSK, THOSE BASTARDS!" Tool Guy's voice rose with indignation. "And what's with you looking sad and all? Is power that great or what? Even though having a power is better, you should be grateful that the Queen doesn't have any powers! If she did, this place wouldn't have grown this much and probably would have become the backyard of some big Crown. Well, I don't know your previous generation rulers' story, but I do know this was a more barren place than it is now. For now, the growth is slow here but steady. No one cared about this place for many years since the Queen was considered useless like this land, but she did a lot for this place! And of course, now hungry eyes are waiting to see you fail and take what the Queen has built up over the years!"
He leaned forward intensely. "But before you get more sad, let me ask you something—what's the worst that can happen? Tell me! The most that can happen is you lose your Crown position. If you keep yourself safe, then you can live a good life with your loved ones. Not everyone has power, yet they still live and thrive. Having power doesn't guarantee you success—many Royal Crown families have come and gone, and some even now are struggling to maintain their status. If you keep feeling so down about not being able to control a simple machine, then you have a long way to go, Princess. I thought you looked better now, but tsk tsk, you still have a lot of learning to do."
His tone softened as he continued, "I'm not saying this to make you accept defeat, but to help you embrace the truth—that having no power can also be a blessing. Look around you! Aren't you surrounded by people who care about you? And you even have a handsome booooyfrieeenddd! I'M STILL SINGLE, YOU KNOW! WAAAHHH! MYYY POOOOR LIIIFE! Cough, cough!"
Tool Guy poured his heart into every word and finally had to pause, overwhelmed by his own dramatic outburst.
The two princesses were taken on an emotional rollercoaster as he spoke. They glanced around the room with grateful smiles, noticing the many faces beaming back at them, nodding in quiet support. Warmth filled their hearts, and their resolve returned.
But when his last words finally sank in, realization struck—and both of their faces flushed a deep, brilliant red.
"I DON'T HAVE A BOYFRIEND!" they both shouted loudly in unison, then added more quietly, "At least not for now..."
Princess Natlia glanced at Zack, who turned away and began whistling innocently. Grr, Zack, I'll beat you! Princess Natlia roared in her mind but still smiled warmly.
Little Princess also glanced to her back side where Alfie stood casually, looking at her with a somewhat silly expression, not giving any particular reaction. Seeing this made Little Princess roar, "What are you looking stupidly at me for?! Humph!" She turned forward, pouting in anger and frustration.
"Heheh." Alfie just laughed, looking at her back warmly.
"Hahaha!" Everyone laughed together at the scene.
Princess Natlia walked over and offered some water to Mr. Stein. "Thank you, Mr. Stein. I will keep your teachings in my mind." She bowed slightly to show her gratitude and then stood beside Zack sweetly.
"Hmm, no worries, no worries! Just be grateful for what you have and what you've achieved all this time, and keep working hard for the future." Tool Guy said this kindly as he drank some water, then continued his lecture.
"Now, about your tools—they're made with many different Crown powers. Some simple ones, like the big, weighty ball that Big Guy uses, just use energy to fill the ball inside with water, slowly pushing the 2nd inner layer outward, making the ball bigger and heavier. Of course, it's specialized, since not many crazy people like him use it." He gestured toward Big Guy, who grinned proudly.
"Then there's the smoke bomb—that just has someone's energy present inside that reacts when released. Nothing special. I've seen people releasing smoke from their bodies several times. The slow-time bomb is also simple in concept, but of course, it's very rare, hence the high price it sells for. The goggles are the same—rare but easy. Some animals can see the body heat of organisms; similarly, there are people who can also see through objects by sensing other people's energies. That's how they're created."
He continued, "Flying boards are simple tools with some slight energies on them for stabilization, but they're mostly useful here since the winds here are continuous and strong. If the wind here can lift a huge rock in the air for several centuries, then lifting a board is an easy task. And about Mr. Jorri's board—it uses his power to gain more strength and speed. Nothing special."
"At last, one of the simplest ones is Little Princess's sword. It actually doesn't have any energy present in it, which is why it can be used indefinitely as long as the metal sword doesn't break. That metal part is coiled inside the cylinder like a spring. Of course, the metal part is made by combining many different energies together to make it that much flexible and strong when it comes out. Your mother must have paid quite a lot to make that sword to keep you safe, Little Princess so take good care of it!!!... Huff huff huff... I'm starting to feel this was not a good idea." Tool Guy muttered to himself as he took another rest while the others examined their tools in fascination.
After a while, Mr. Stein continued, "Now, combinations are where the tricky part comes. The sticky shoes actually have two energies inside. One is inside the sole—your feet are actually floating in air inside that shoe, like the boards float a little if placed on the ground. Then the sticky part is another energy inside. So, if you walk, you don't really feel any stickiness since your inner sole moves with your feet, and then your sole touching the ground comes into play. Of course, the stickiness power is higher on Big Guy's shoes and less on something else, like women's heels. By the way, I have some of those if any ladies want them—you can buy them!" Tool Guy advertised himself a little, then continued.
"Now, coming to Sasha's suit—it has a lot of complexity to it, but I don't want to go too deep into that. Basically, her suit has a highly sophisticated network of channels inside with several small areas where different energies can take effect. For example, all over the suit there are multiple key regions where similar LIFT energies are present, helping her to float. Then there are places where the suit will harden in case of emergency, like near her heart and neck. There are many others—just think of her suit as a network of many energy pathways. Zack paid a lot for that one, Sasha, so take care of it." Tool Guy nodded at her, as Sasha smiled sweetly and nodded back.
"Same with the speedy plus anchor shoes—you touch different locations to bring different powers into effect. I don't need to tell you more about that since I've explained similar things already. Ahem, moving on to one of the most basic items: STRAPPED CLOTHING THAT HARDENS WHEN YOU TOUCH YOUR CLOTHING'S KEYPOINT, THEN RETRACTS BACK TO NORMAL CLOTH. Most people here have those for various purposes, and in other places it has its own uses. Talking about the glided cloth that takes a portion of your initial clothing and forms it into a structure that lets you glide in the air."
"The basic principle is the same as Sasha's suit. It's stitched in a special way so that, when energy is activated within it, the fabric takes on a specific shape. This is possible because certain parts of the cloth are made from specially formed energy itself.
Believe it or not, some people can produce a fluid-like substance from their powers—much like Mr. Jorri's water blob, except it can be shaped as delicately as a blade of grass. This substance can be molded into clothing because its structure can be altered again and again, allowing it to adopt many different properties. In its natural state, it feels soft like ordinary fabric, but by channeling energy into it, it can become hard, sticky, jelly-like, or something else entirely. When that energy is withdrawn, it returns to its original soft, cloth-like form.
The normal fabric acts as a base support for these power-type clothes, which is why your outfit changes when you activate it—often leaving you with a rather unusual fashion style. In single-piece items, like Sio's wristband cloth or Alfie's neck scarf, most of the material is actually made from that energy itself. I'm quite certain that anyone capable of using this kind of energy must be incredibly rich… sigh. I want lots of money too!
PUFF!
Tool Guy's head was now fuming with smoke after explaining so much. Lurvi and Tyra tried to cool it off by flowing inside and out making sure his head get some air. The others were testing their strapped clothing—SWOOSHH and back, SWOOSHH and back. It did feel sticky when they touched it after throwing it around. They had never really noticed it before since this had become part of their daily lifestyle, but seeing it in demonstration now made them appreciate these tools much more.
"Ahem, about the Heart Machine, I don't know much since the main part can only be entered by the Queen or others she trusts. I never went inside—I only checked the exterior at borders to see whether it's absorbing harmful extra energy from people or not. It's a complex machine. I don't think I can help you with that. You could ask the Queen for more information." Tool Guy asked for forgiveness for not being able to help her, to which Princess Natlia just smiled and said it was okay.
"NOOWW! You know the basics of it, so don't bother me anymore!" Tool Guy waved his hands dismissively. "If your tool has been exhausted, then you can refill it here or buy a new one. For now, I'm tired from all this speaking—just look around and see what you like. If you want something specialized, just tell me afterwards. Now go, shoo, shoo!"
Tool Guy closed his eyes, not bothering with them anymore. The others casually started looking around, thinking about how complex and great tools were for people, making their lives so much easier...
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END OF CHAPTER
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Author Blabbering
Many things around us work in incredibly complicated ways, yet in our daily lives we barely notice their significance. We flip a switch and the light turns on. We open our phones, zip our bags, lock our doors—without a second thought. These everyday objects are so reliable that we forget how much effort, experimentation, and quiet brilliance went into making them feel simple.
Take something as ordinary as a light bulb. Modern bulbs are highly advanced—efficient, long-lasting, carefully engineered to give the right brightness and color. Behind that "simple" glow are decades of trial, failure, and innovation. Thousands of attempts, countless broken filaments, and minds that refused to give up until light became something we could casually summon in a dark room.
Now let's talk about something even more overlooked: the zipper.
At first glance, a zipper looks almost silly—just two rows of tiny metal or plastic teeth and a small slider. But the way it works is beautifully clever. Each side of the zipper has individual teeth shaped like little hooks. When you pull the slider up, it doesn't magically "stick" the zipper together. Instead, the slider guides the teeth from both sides into perfect alignment, interlocking them one by one. Inside the slider, there are channels that force the teeth to mesh together at just the right angle. When you pull the slider down, it separates them cleanly again.
What makes this even more impressive is how precise it has to be. If the teeth are slightly misaligned or damaged, the zipper fails. And yet, millions of zippers work smoothly every single day on clothes, bags, tents, and shoes—often in rough conditions—without us ever appreciating the design behind them.
The inventor of the zipper didn't get it right on the first try either. Early versions failed, jammed, or broke easily. It took years of refinement before the zipper became the reliable everyday hero we now take for granted.
That's the funny thing about good design: when it works perfectly, it becomes invisible.
So maybe once in a while, it's worth looking around, picking an ordinary object, and asking, "How does this actually work?" You'll often find layers of thought, engineering, and persistence hiding behind the most unremarkable things.
Nothing around us is truly "simple."
It just took someone else a very long time to make it feel that way.